On Congregations and Synods

Not only is the Church incurably congregational, it is also incurably “synodical.”

Okay, that sounds odd. Synodical? That sounds like a made up word. Actually, it is an ancient word, at least the root word is: synod.

Synod means walking on the same (syn—think symphony, lots of sounds at the same time) road (od—think Odyseus and his travels). The word has come to be associated with groups of congregations. For instance, my congregation is part of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

It is important, helpful, historical and Biblical for congregations to be connected with other congregations.

Being part of a church body, a synod, connects your congregation with other like minded congregations, congregations who are on “the same road.” Like a McDonald’s or a Starbucks, you can go into any of the other congregations that are part of a synod or a church body and have the same expectations and experiences.

In the early Church congregations banded together. Paul wrote letters to specific congregations, but he intended them to share those letters with other congregations. When he was taking up an offering for the congregation in Jerusalem, he asked other congregations to participate. He even added a touch of healthy competition between some of them to see who could excel in giving.

While this note is too limited to chronicle the development of denominations across Christendom, it is to say that within the “denominationalization” of Christianity, there is a necessity of local congregations working with other congregations. Just as congregations need different members to make up a body, so no one congregation is complete by itself. Congregations need other congregations for partnerships and strategic alliances for Kingdom stability and expansion.

There are two filters that congregations can use to sort through which other congregations make the most sense for joint efforts. One filter is location. It makes sense for congregations to work together with other congregations in close proximity to share ministry in their wider community. For obvious reasons it is easier to work with a congregation that is down the road than one that is across the country. 

A second filter is theological perspective. It is no surprise that within Christianity there are different theological points of view and histories. Every congregation teaches from a theological and historical position. There is no such thing as a “non-denominational” congregation; congregations may be independent—not part of a wider network of congregations, but they are in fact connected to a denominational perspective. Because of divergent theological backgrounds, it can be easier and less contentious to work with a congregation that shares the same understanding about Baptism, Communion, the Bible, etc. than with a congregation that holds antithetical views.

Our congregation indeed works together with other local congregations, but it is also part of a national church body. We are  joined with 6,000 other congregations which share the same theological and historical point of view. Together the congregations of our church body join forces and resources to train future pastors and church workers, publish books and study materials, work on combined mission work across the nation and across the world. Like life within a congregation, life within a church body enables us to do more together than we could do on our own.

With such a fellowship comes responsibilities. If we are part of a national church body, we need to participate. Our congregation needs to be prepared to be engaged in whatever organization and activities that are associated with membership in the church body. We should not see such things as a drain on our resources or the perpetuation of a church hierarchy. Such partnership serves as an affirmation that we are part of something bigger than ourselves: a movement, a Kingdom, the Body of Christ working together with others as strategically as possible to further the Kingdom of God on earth.

As a leader within your congregation you need to be prepared to work both with other local congregations and with congregations from a larger church body or association.

One more thing… over the last thirty years many independent congregations (self-identified as non-denominational) have developed their own networks of like minded congregations either locally with multi-site ministries or regionally with strategic alliances. It turns out that “non-denominational congregations” are neither non-denominational nor independent.

See, the Church is incurably congregational and incurably “synodical.” Let’s make the most of both realities. It is part of the path toward significance.